(Reuters) – Mark Cavendish will compete in the Tour de France for the time being year in a row after Bahrain McLaren passed over his team’s British cyclist, he announced on Friday.
Cavendish, who won 30 stages on the Tour and is one of the most productive sprinters in the event’s history, joined the team last year with Belgian cyclist Dylan Teuns, who also missed the cut.
Team principal Rod Ellingworth said earlier this year that Cavendish, who missed the 2019 Tour when Dimension Data left him out of the team, to earn his place and that his chances of being part of the team were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I just don’t sit in a position this year for the Tour de France,” Cavendish, 35, said in a video posted on Twitter. “This is the most complicated tour I’ve ever noticed in my entire career.
“I’m a driving force who wants a lot of races to start and I just didn’t do one this year with COVID-19. But Bahrain McLaren has an incredibly strong GC candidate at Mikel Landa and an incredibly strong team for him.
Landa, 30, finished fourth in the 2017 Tour and is expected to lead the race this year.
“This year’s course is very suitable for Mikel and his form is strong,” Ellingworth said in a statement.
“The organization we have selected to accompany you represents our riders who adapt to the route and are in a position for the Tour.
“The last few months have been difficult for all runners to have compatibility for the race and it is an honor for all our boys that we have been able to do so with such a forged lineup. “
Cavendish is at 4 feet of Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 hiking victories and joins Britons Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas on the bench after the two former champions were excluded from the Ineos Grenadiers team this week.
The tour, which was postponed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, begins on 29 August from Nice.
Team Bahrain McLaren: Mikel Landa (Spain), Wout Poels (Netherlands), Pello Bilbao (Spain), Damiano Caruso (Italy), Rafael Valls (Spain), Marco Haller (Austria), Matej Mohoric (Slovenia), Sonny Colbrelli (Italy) )).
(Report via Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; edited through Christian Radnedge and Ian Chadband)
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